Michael Bullard, 23, of Middleton, Idaho, Richard Armstrong, 24, of Nampa, Idaho, and James Whitewater, 23, of Nampa, Idaho, were sentenced today in Boise for federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in connection with the racially-motivated assault of an African American man outside of a Wal-Mart store in July 2008.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Bullard to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Armstrong was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Whitewater was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

At sentencing, Judge Lodge remarked on the significance of these crimes occurring on July 4th, a day that this country traditionally sets aside to celebrate its independence and the constitutional freedoms that all persons enjoy. The Judge stated that it didn't take much imagination to understand the fear and intimidation that Mr. Smith felt when he was victimized in this case. When sentencing Bullard and Armstrong, Judge Lodge said, "July 4th was not a time to be congratulating yourself for a cowardly act."

Bullard and Armstrong were convicted by a jury in July 2009. Whitewater pled guilty before trial and testified against the other two defendants.

Evidence at trial revealed that on July 4, 2008, as the victim, a 24-year-old African-American man, walked out of a Wal-Mart store in Nampa, Idaho, he was ambushed, chased and beaten by three men who used racial slurs as they carried out the attack. Witnesses testified that

Bullard, Armstrong and Whitewater all participated in the assault, while a fourth person, a girlfriend of one of the defendants, held their belongings and cheered them on. The girlfriend, Jennifer Hartpence, was initially charged as a co-defendant, but her case was dismissed before it reached the jury.

After four hours of deliberation, the jury convicted the two remaining defendants of conspiring to violate the federally-protected rights of the victim and of actually violating the victim's protected rights by engaging in the racially-motivated assault.

"Driven by bigotry and hate, the defendants brutally assaulted a man for no other reason than his race. Abhorrent acts of violence such as this have no place in America," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division.

United States Attorney Tom Moss said, "These convictions mean that racial crimes will not be tolerated... not in this Country ... not on any day. Idaho, like most other parts of this Nation, has had inglorious moments in its past when people endured oppression and criminal acts merely because of their skin color, race, national origin, gender or religion. We are long past that time. Thanks to the FBI and Nampa PD for their outstanding work in bringing this case forward. The United States Attorney's Office also thanks the Civil Rights Division of DOJ for its help and collaboration."

"One cannot help but note the irony that the terrible acts of which these two defendants were convicted occurred on the 4th of July, last year," said Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office. "The initial aggressive investigation by Nampa Police Department in this matter led to their indictment and conviction. In this day and age, law enforcement will not tolerate hate crimes.  

"The victim of these crimes was minding his own business, shopping in a store in our city which is open to the public---as all of us do, and have a right to do, every day. This man paid a high price as an example and reminder to all of us that we must protect our rights with courage, and citizens must be vigilant in defending the rights of their fellow citizens," said Nampa Police Department Chief Bill Augsburger.